History on a Shirt

Du Doch Nicht t-shirt

$15.00

Quantity

Ernst Udet Du Doch Nicht Short Sleeve Red Gildan 100% Cotton T-Shirt

German ace Ernst Udet with his distinctive D.VII Fokker and the famous "Du doch nicht!!" tail art calmly regards you from this t-shirt. The aircraft flies in the background while Udet's stare above the "Du doch nicht!!" gets across the attitude behind this idiom that otherwise doesn't sound like much in translation - "You certainly not!!"

We now have two versions of the artwork. The new one has Udet's uniform in blue-gray, and he appears to be standing even closer. You can order the new version by ordering a size that says new, for instance "L NEW". The older version is now 40% off as it is going out of stock!

Udet is known for one of the few instances of tail art on an airplane. However, shortly after he painted Du doch nicht!! on his aircraft, he was shot down by an American (who probably couldn't read the German inscription anyway). Up again in another aircraft for an afternoon sortie, he found it rather eerie to fly over the still-smoldering remains of his morning aircraft.

Second only to the Red Baron among German aces, Udet was the highest-ranking German ace to live through the war, and a colorful personality. His skill in aerobatics gave him an audience for barnstorming and stunt aviation between the wars, and he traveled around America and spent time with Hollywood celebrities. In the second world war, in the Luftwaffe under Hermann Goering, he died in what may or may not have been a suicide.

"I glanced at my watch. One minute to 11:00, thirty seconds, fifteen. And then it was 11:00 A.M., the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. I was the only audience for the greatest show ever presented."